Rabbi ‘uplifted’ by Bahá’í interfaith storytelling event
Amongst guests of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Bahá’í and Buddhist faiths who attended and shared a story from their faith, the Jewish community was represented by Rabbi Dr Thomas Salamon of Westminster Synagogue.
Rabbi Thomas shared a story from the Jewish tradition and a number of young members of the Jewish community who attended as guests too. He said that “”I was uplifted by the evening, which gave me an opportunity to learn from others and at the same time note, that we all are taking a similar path, even if from a different direction. If all of mankind realised this then we could live in a better and more peaceful world.”
This was one amongst a variety of contributions offered by the many faith groups who supported Interfaith Week this year, and the event was supported and attended by representatives from the Department of Communities and Local Government as well as the multiplicity of faith communities.
All of the stories focussed on the theme of ‘Service to Humanity’, a desire that resonated with everyone present.
The theme was reflected with increasing unity of thought and expression as the evening progressed, as stories conveyed a consciousness of the principle of the oneness of humanity as the core belief that most inspires acts of service – both in our individual lives through acts of love and kindness, as well as through the numerous opportunities for faith-based social action that can be found in Britain today.
In her opening remarks Ms Rosanna Smith, a member of the Bahá’í community, expressed the view that the richness of our religious unity presented through the different stories, could be considered as different chapters of one book, or perhaps as God’s eternal story.
The evening came to a close with all those gathered singing together a song about service and love for humanity, with lyrics taken from the Bahá’í writings: “When there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time”.
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